Contributor: David Schollaert

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

Consumer Confidence Improves in September

U.S. consumer confidence has suffered drastically from the pandemic, but has shown some positive signs of late. The composite value of consumer confidence in September, reported by The Conference Board, was 101.8, surpassing the 100 mark for the first time since March 2020. The three-month moving average (3MMA) moved up to 93.3. Despite the increase, the […]

SMU's September At-a-Glance

Steel prices continued their upward trajectory in September as demand rose further and mills announced more increases on hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanized products. Steel Market Update’s hot rolled price averaged $568 per ton in September, an increase of more than $100 month/month, and has since topped the $600 mark. Average prices for prime […]

Steelmaking Raw Materials Price Update

Looking at the month-on-month changes in steelmaking raw materials costs, the prices of iron ore, pig iron and zinc have continued to experience noticeable gains, a pattern seen since the beginning of Q3 2020. As expected, scrap prices have bounced back after the downturn seen in the summer months, providing support to higher finished steel […]

UPG Finalizes Acquisition of Lex Holding Co.

Chicago-based service center and steel processor UPG Enterprises LLC, announced the acquisition of Lex Holding Co. The acquisition will expand UPG’s distribution of flat rolled steel products in the Midwest markets and further diversify their product line and logistical capabilities. The deal includes Lexington Steel Corp., a full-line distributor of flat rolled steel products based in Chicago […]

GAO: Commerce Needs to Fix Section 232 Exclusion Process

Importers of steel and aluminum who have been critical of the Commerce Department’s handling of Section 232 exclusion requests have found an ally in the Government Accountability Office. In a report released Tuesday, the GAO called for Commerce to improve and speed up the process it uses to review tariff exclusion requests. The report noted […]

August Reveals Positive Changes in Producer Prices

Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. For information on upgrading to a Premium-level subscription, email Info@SteelMarketUpdate.com. Following is an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Producer Price Index data. The PPI is a family of indexes that measure the average change over time in the prices received […]

Worldsteel: "No Single Solution to Reducing CO2 Emissions"

Reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions from the steelmaking process, which remains a very CO2- and energy-intensive activity, calls for a combination of approaches that may vary from nation to nation. “There is no single solution to drastically reducing CO2 emissions from our industry, and we believe that individual countries are best placed to assess and […]

TNT Pipe and Tube is now Heidtman Tubular Products

Heidtman Steel Products, Inc., a leading coil service center, has renamed its tube mill, formerly TNT Pipe and Tube, to Heidtman Tubular Products. The change comes as Heidtman Steel seeks to showcase its vertical integration and full ownership and commitment to the tubular business, the company said. “As one of the largest, privately held, flat […]